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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26903926">meet me here tonight in the darkness of this moonlit park</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagansjagger/pseuds/sagansjagger'>sagansjagger</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Explosions, F/M, Identity Reveal</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:22:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,839</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26903926</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sagansjagger/pseuds/sagansjagger</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ladybug had no idea why Chat chose the Père Lachaise cemetery as their place to meet up for patrol all those years ago. She wondered about that every time they met up, but knew she wouldn't get an answer from the grinning hero.</p><p>Until an akuma forces the secret into the open.</p><p>That secret... and a few others.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>238</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>October 2020 - Dark</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>meet me here tonight in the darkness of this moonlit park</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khanofallorcs/gifts">Khanofallorcs</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"I don't know why you picked this place for patrol all those years ago," Ladybug muttered, rubbing her scarlet-clad arms. Her breath condensed in the winter air as she exhaled, leaving her in a white puff. "It's creepy." </p><p>Chat shrugged, offering her a smile he hoped was reassuring. She glowed green in his night vision. The silver hexagonal patterns of her suit made a beautiful sight. "I actually find cemeteries peaceful. The dead can't be akumatized."</p><p>"True," Ladybug agreed eventually, with a tip of her head. Her red hair ribbons bounced. "I mean, I guess they can't do anything to us anymore." She glanced around the snow-dusted mausoleums. "Nope. Still creepy."</p><p>Chat chuckled. In the eight years they'd been fighting Hawkmoth, he'd never been able to get a bead on his Lady. She constantly surprised him. </p><p>He thought cemeteries were peaceful, so he figured everyone did. But Ladybug vehemently disagreed. He wasn't inclined to change her perspective; after all, that's what made his Lady, well, his Lady.</p><p>The stately crypts that surrounded them this Thursday evening dwarfed the humble headstone he'd had installed. He was still glad he'd done so in secret; Gabriel probably would have gone for something gaudy and ostentatious, like a statue. </p><p>That is, if Gabriel had ever deigned to acknowledge that Adrien's mother was gone.</p><p>There was no body in the ground to the left of Chat. There'd been nothing to bury in Père Lachaise, one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the world. </p><p>And in Chat's opinion, one of the most peaceful.</p><p>He was careful not to draw any attention to the headstone. Ladybug would be furious with him if he was that careless with his identity, and he'd lose his miraculous. So he brutally stuffed the desire to lovingly brush the snow off the stone.</p><p><i>Goodnight, Mother,</i> Chat thought. <i>Rest well.</i></p><p>He beamed at Ladybug, pulling up beside her. "Shall we go patrol?"</p><p>"Finally." Ladybug huffed playfully. "I was wondering when you'd get your head on straight. Let's ditch this popsicle stand."</p><p>They strolled side-by-side on the snowy, cobblestone paths, wending their way through the gorgeous statuary and not-so-humble tombs. Chat breathed in the crisp, cool air, filling his lungs with serenity. </p><p>Chat reached out with a hand, pinky extended. Ladybug entwined her finger with his. He'd stopped flirting years ago, but had never stopped loving her. She'd responded to casual touches more and more lately, giving him a hope he dared not name. </p><p>Despite the winter chill, Chat was very warm indeed.</p><p>***</p><p>"Chat!" Ladybug's guttural cry tore from her throat as the akuma's explosion threw him across Père Lachaise. She bolted towards him, scooping up his baton from a snowdrift on the way.</p><p>The akuma cackled, blowing massive bubble after explosive bubble with her wand in Ladybug's direction. Ladybug glanced over her shoulder, dodging both the bubbles and the sharp stone shrapnel kicked up by the shattering grave markers.</p><p>Leading the akuma here was a mistake, Ladybug thought as she reached Chat, who had broken down the doors to a crypt with his thrown body. He was lying in the threshold to the tomb, rubbing his head and blinking blearily. Ladybug tossed him his baton.</p><p>"Don't try to spin your baton at the bubbles, Kitty!" Ladybug shouted as he caught the stick and scrambled to his feet. "They'll only throw you again!"</p><p>"Got it, Bug!" Chat called, dodging out of the way of another onslaught of rainbow bubbles.</p><p>With a start, Ladybug realized that she recognized this part of Père Lachaise as Chat's favorite patrol spot. She glanced over her shoulder to see Chat protectively crouched by a certain headstone. </p><p>Ladybug kept one eye on the akuma at all times, so she wasn't surprised like Chat seemed to be when the villain targeted him with another blast. He leapt out of the way, letting loose a despairing cry when the tombstone he'd been protecting exploded upon impact. </p><p>Snarling and baring his teeth, Chat charged their superpowered opponent. Ladybug used the time when the akuma was distracted to call for her Lucky Charm.</p><p>"A fire extinguisher?" Ladybug glanced around and realized she could freeze the bubbles in midair, hopefully rendering them harmless.</p><p>She followed Chat's charge, watching him nimbly dodge out of the way of danger. "Do your thing, Kitty!" Ladybug called, pulling the trigger on the extinguisher and releasing a stream of compressed, white foam, covering the bubbles in it. As she expected, they dropped to the ground as solidified masses, erupting less threateningly on the cobblestones.</p><p>As Ladybug advanced on the akuma, who was blowing bubbles as fast as she could, Chat summoned his power. "Cataclysm!" </p><p>Ladybug kept spraying the foam right up into the akuma's face. She shrieked, dropping her oversized bubble wand to wipe at her eyes. Chat caught the end in his right hand, dissolving it and releasing a purple butterfly.</p><p>Ladybug wasted no time. She thrust the extinguisher aside and captured the akuma in her yo-yo, releasing it with a relieved, "Bye, bye little butterfly."</p><p>As Chat strode across the cemetery, intent on doing something Ladybug couldn't guess at, she turned to the kneeling victim. "Are you all right?"</p><p>"Yeah? I think so," the woman said, dragging a hand down her face. "Was I akumatized?"</p><p>Ladybug crouched and laid a hand on the woman's shoulder. The superheroine reassured the victim that the damage wasn't her fault and that Ladybug's Miraculous Cure would set everything to rights.</p><p>"I have to check on my partner." Ladybug smiled at the former-akuma. "I'll be right back, okay?"</p><p>The woman nodded, and Ladybug stood. She crossed to the hunched-over Chat but was shocked to hear a stifled sob coming from him. He was facing away from her, but she could see his shoulders shaking.</p><p>"Chat," she whispered, crouching beside him. Tears were rolling down his splotchy cheeks, and he was sifting through the debris with his clawed fingers.</p><p>"Fix it, Bug," he rasped, and she hated the desperate way his voice sounded, hated the tears in his effervescent eyes, hated how his lip quivered.</p><p>Ladybug stood, running full-tilt to where she'd left the extinguisher. She picked it up and brought it back to Chat. "Ready?"</p><p>He nodded. </p><p>"Miraculous Ladybug!" She hurled the red canister into the air, sparking a swirl of millions of tiny helpers. The ladybugs billowed around the cemetery, repairing the damage. Last was Chat's gravestone.</p><p>Ladybug didn't mean to see the name. She hadn't exactly been looking away, though. She gasped, pressing her hands to her mouth. <i>Emilie Agreste?</i></p><p>Ladybug stared at Chat. <i>This can't be.</i> She willed herself to unsee what had been seen, but she couldn't. And once she had an inkling of who the man was behind the Black Cat mask, the quantum masking fell away like scales from her eyes. </p><p>Chat had Adrien's build. His eyes. His beaming grin that she missed so much on his face now.</p><p>Chat's breath hitched. He smiled sadly at the tombstone and lovingly brushed snow off of it. Ladybug laid a heavy hand on his shoulder. </p><p>"Meet me tonight at the Tower. Nine pm," she ordered, not missing the way his shoulders ratcheted up to his ears.</p><p>"Okay."</p><p>***</p><p>At eight fifty-seven, Chat paced atop the second floor maintenance platform on the Eiffel Tower, wearing a slippery path through the snow.</p><p><i>She saw,</i> Chat thought miserably, running his claws through his wild mane. <i>I know she did.</i></p><p>True to form, Ladybug showed up at exactly nine o’clock. She landed on the platform with a pained look in her eyes. “Chat…”</p><p>“Ladybug,” Chat greeted, already trembling. “What did you want to tell me?”</p><p>Ladybug bit her lip. “Your… Your identity has been compromised,” she whispered, staring up at him, twisting her fingers in a tight grip. “I know who you are.”</p><p><i>I knew it,</i> Chat thought, taking a moment to bury his face in his hands. He inhaled and exhaled and then lowered his hands. He knew what he had to do.</p><p>Tearing the ring off his finger was like opening a scab. The transformation light fled him, and Plagg spiraled out of the warm metal. “Adrien, what are you--”</p><p>“Plagg, I renounce you,” Adrien rasped, and Plagg disappeared.</p><p>“Adrien!” Ladybug gasped, her wide eyes filled with unadulterated horror. “What have you done?”</p><p>Adrien held the ring out to her, tears burning in his eyes. “Take it. I’ve lost the right.”</p><p>Ladybug hesitated. She swallowed and then reached out for his hand. Adrien jammed his eyes shut, unwilling to watch her take his precious miraculous.</p><p>But that was not what she did. She curled his fingers around it, shutting his hand. He opened his eyes.</p><p>“W-What?” Adrien’s breathing came thick and fast. “Don’t you want the ring?”</p><p>Ladybug shook her head. “It’s yours, Adrien.” She offered him a teary smile. “I couldn’t think of anyone else I’d want to be my partner.”</p><p>“But Fu said--”</p><p>“I’m the Guardian now,” Ladybug said fiercely. “And I make the rules.” Her tone gentled as she rested her hands on his chest. “Keep your miraculous. You deserve it.”</p><p>Adrien’s trembling hand flew to his mouth. He choked out a sob, his tears rolling down his face in earnest. He lowered his hand and slipped the ring on. </p><p>Plagg spiraled out. “What were you thinking?” he spat, setting his jaw. “Of course she wouldn’t make you give me up!”</p><p>“Plagg, claws out,” Adrien murmured, feeling the green transformation light wash over him. He’d never been more grateful to be Chat Noir.</p><p>Ladybug was still in his space, her palms pressed against his chest. “Is it my turn?”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Adrien asked, still sniffly. He wiped his nose with the back of his wrist. </p><p>“To reveal my identity.”</p><p>Adrien stared at her. He worked his mouth, forgetting for a moment how to speak. He gulped. “If you want to, Ladybug?” he eventually whispered. “I do want to know… But I don’t want to pressure you.”</p><p>Ladybug shook her head again. She stepped back. “You’re not. It’s only fair that you know mine now that I know yours.”</p><p>Adrien tilted his head, considering that logic. He didn’t agree, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. “Okay.”</p><p>“Tikki,” Ladybug spoke in a low voice, “spots off.”</p><p>Pink light washed over Ladybug, revealing the one and only Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Tikki frowned at the two of them. “Now he knows.”</p><p>“Now he knows,” Marinette agreed, her eyes shining with adoration. Adrien’s heart flipped in his chest. “And Adrien? There’s something else you should know.”</p><p>“What?” Adrien breathed. He didn’t know how much more his mind could take. <i>Calm down, Adrien. It’s not like she’s going to tell you she lov--</i></p><p>“I love you,” Marinette whispered.</p><p>
  <i>Oh.</i>
</p><p>“I love you so much,” Marientte continued. “As Adrien. As Chat. I’ve wasted so much time.”</p><p>Adrien placed his trembling hands on her shoulders. “I love you, too,” he confessed, and then allowed her name to roll off her tongue. “Marinette. Can I… Can I kiss you?”</p><p>“Please.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Are you interested in reading or writing fanfiction? Are you looking for a community of like-minded and supportive people? Then join the <a href="https://discord.gg/mlfanworks">Miraculous Fanworks</a> Discord server! </p><p>We are always welcoming new members, and would love to see you. We offer a variety of conversations, from fic discussions to writing support to fanfiction prompts. We even have monthly server-wide events and group writing projects! </p><p>Come join today!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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